Carwyn Jones defends Nobel Peace Prize award for EU

Wales must “never forget” the benefits of European Union membership, Carwyn Jones has claimed.

Wales must “never forget” the benefits of European Union membership, Carwyn Jones has claimed.

Speaking ahead of a ceremony today where EU leaders prepare to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, the First Minister said “to dismiss the achievements of the EU is to forget our blood-stained history and just how far the continent has come in the past 60 years”.

He said the EU remained of “major importance” to Welsh business and was worth thousands of jobs.

The Nobel Committee said when it announced the peace prize decision that the “stabilising part” played by the EU had “helped to transform most of Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace”.

But the decision has been criticised in several quarters, including by a trio of Nobel laureates including Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

But Mr Jones said it was “only right” that the Peace Prize Committee praised the EU’s role in transforming Europe, which he claimed wasn’t a “misty-eyed, naive view of the EU”.

He also warned that while “Europhobes” were good at getting their message across, the pro-European voice was “either muted or even silent”.

He said: “I am more than aware that the prize has raised eyebrows among many, even sniggers, from those who despise everything about the EU.

“However, to dismiss the achievements of the EU is to forget our blood-stained history and just how far the continent, including the UK, has come in the past 60 years.

“In 1945 much of Europe lay in ruins, countless millions were dead and nations had been brought to their knees. The war was simply the latest conflict among the ‘great powers’ of Europe stretching back centuries.

“After the last bullet of the Second World War was fired, Europe embarked on a process of reconciliation, gradually helping to heal deep wounds and creating much needed stability. What we now know as the EU was central to this.”

The First Minister has attempted to hit back at Eurosceptics in recent weeks, with a speech warning of the dangers of an “in-out” vote on EU membership for the union.

Speaking at the London School of Economics, he said a scenario where England voted to leave, outweighing votes from other parts of the UK to stay, could put the union “under enormous strain, and could only serve the interests of those who wanted the United Kingdom to cease to exist.”

And ahead of the Nobel ceremony, he reiterated that the Welsh economy was dependent on the EU market.

He said: “The evidence is clear: a strong, deep and integrated single market creates growth, generates jobs and offers opportunities for European citizens, which were not there 20 years ago. Even in the current economic climate, this is of major importance to Welsh business, with access to the single market forming an essential part of the Welsh offer to foreign investors.

“When I meet potential investors in Wales they are not interested in our country because of access to three million Welsh consumers, or even 60 million UK consumers, but the hundreds of millions of consumers Europe offers.”

He said the European Structural Funds meant £3.7bn invested in projects in Wales and the country’s rural economy also gets £300m of European funds annually.

He added: “All too often those who dislike the whole concept of the EU dominate the debate on its future.”

But one Eurosceptic MEP questioned whether the EU qualified for the accolade.

Ukip’s John Bufton said the EU started as the European Coal and Steel Community, with the original objective to prepare “for war, not peace”, and that then began “foisting federalism upon 500 million citizens subject to, but without democratic influence over, its laws.”

He said: “At present, after putting political will over common sense by creating a single currency, we are left with a crisis that the European Commission is using to push for deeper integration.

“The relative peace Europe has enjoyed is starting to unravel. We are seeing the humanitarian fallout of the EU’s failed fiscal policy, with thousands plunged into poverty – utterly despicable in 21st century Europe.

“The week the Peace Prize was announced, the Spanish Red Cross launched their winter appeal, calling for emergency food parcels for fellow countrymen. It’s the first time their campaign has focused on Spain, rather than the developing world.”

He added: “Tensions are running high and the EU desperately needs an image boost.

“Perhaps by posthumously awarding the Peace Prize now, the Nobel Committee is trying to instil a sense of solidarity at a time when it is so desperately needed.”

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